United States: “Shocking” videos show inmate beaten by guards before death from “asphyxiation”

The images are particularly shocking. New York authorities released this Friday, December 27, videos of the violence suffered by an African-American inmate, Robert Brooks, who died after being beaten by prison officers in a prison in the region. From cameras worn by guards inside the infirmary building at Marcy prison, located in upstate New York, the images were released this Friday by the Attorney General's Office. State of New York during a virtual press conference.

They show that the detainee's face is bloody and that he receives numerous blows, while he appears to be tied to an infirmary bed, with at least six men around him. He is held firmly by the neck several times. While the detainee is sitting, handcuffed and visibly injured, an agent puts on a plastic glove and grabs him again by the collar with the help of one of his colleagues to pin him against a wall. No sound is available. The cameras were “lit” more “the agents had not activated them so they were running without sound”explained the Attorney General of the State of New York, Letitia James, during a press conference this Friday. The videos do not make it possible to understand whether an initial incident took place.

“Shocking and disturbing”

Videos released this Friday “are shocking and disturbing (…) I do not take their broadcast lightly, especially during the holiday season”declared Letitia James, justifying that they be made public in the name of the “transparency”. His viewing has “devastated” his loved ones, said the family's lawyer, Elizabeth Mazur.

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The events took place on the evening of December 9, 2024 in Marcy prison. The inmate, 43, died on the night of December 9 to 10. Robert Brooks was serving a 12-year prison sentence for violence. According to the results of a first autopsy cited by the local press, his death was caused by a “asphyxia due to neck compression”.

“Targeted abuse”

The authorities communicated little in the days that followed, but the Democratic governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, announced on Saturday, December 21, that she had ordered the dismissal of 14 prison employees involved in the violence. “We have no tolerance for those who cross the line, break the law and engage in unnecessary violence or targeted abuse.”she said. “Like all New Yorkers, I was outraged and horrified after seeing the images of the senseless murder of Robert Brooks”she said this Friday in a press release.

The United States is regularly shaken by episodes of violence committed by law enforcement. In 2020, the death of an African-American, George Floyd, suffocated under the knee of a police officer during a police check, caused an immense wave of anti-racist demonstrations throughout the country.